Representative Monty Fritts Pledges to Challenge the ‘Nashville Establishment' with 2026 Gubernatorial Run

Representative Monty Fritts standing in the House chambers (Photo by Monty Fritts)

State Representative Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, announced Friday that he’s joining the 2026 Tennessee Governor’s race.

In a video posted on his campaign website, Fritts attempted to distance himself from fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Congressman John Rose and Senator Marsha Blackburn by pledging to oppose what he calls the “Nashville establishment.”  All three candidates will face off in the August Republican primary, and polls show the winner will be heavily favored in the November 2026 election.

“We’re headed away from liberty and government is growing,” said Fritts. “While the Nashville establishment, the celebrity political body, seeks to take more of your money and redistribute it as corporate welfare or in socialist leaning programs, I think Tennesseans are better off keeping more of their money.”

Rural Tennessee Roots and Chemtrails Conspiracy

Fritts was born in Rockwood, Tennessee, and has served in the Tennessee Army National Guard and spent more than two decades working at the Y12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge before successfully running for the House District 32 seat in 2023.

Fritts’ legislative career received notable attention in 2024 when he successfully passed legislation that bans the release of chemicals into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting the weather or the intensity of sunlight. Opponents criticized the legislation as being based on the debunked “chemtrails conspiracy” that the government is injecting chemicals into the contrails that jets emit for nefarious purposes including altering the weather.

Vouchers and Spending Opposition

On the issue of education, arguably, Fritts’ most notable vote came earlier this year when he joined 21 Republican lawmakers who opposed Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship plan. It allows parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school and is frequently referred to as school vouchers.

On his campaign website, Fritts says he would “End fiscally irresponsible, unconstitutional voucher programs.” Both Blackburn and Rose support expanding the Education Freedom Scholarship plan.

Fritts also says he supports efforts to challenge the Plyler v. Doe U.S. Supreme Court decision that requires schools to educate undocumented students.  A similar proposal failed earlier this year in the General Assembly.

“Taxpayers should not bear education costs for foreign children,” wrote Fritts on his website.